Control arrangement for dental device and method of controlling dental device

ABSTRACT

A dental apparatus which comprises a dental device, a graphic display and a user interface connected functionally to one another, the user interface being arranged to be used in controlling functions of the dental device. The user interface is a touch pad and the graphic display comprises means for showing symbols describing control functions of the dental device and a cursor. The dental apparatus further comprises means for moving and controlling the cursor in response to a touch of a pointer means and its movement on the surface of the touch pad. A detachable and disinfectable film, which can be replaced by a new one after it has worn out, may be attached to the contact surface.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The invention relates to controlling a dental device, in particular to ahygienic control arrangement for a dental device.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

In all medical treatments, such as odontological treatments,disinfection of treatment instruments and environment is of highimportance. The purpose of disinfection is to kill microbes and thus toguarantee that the treatment environment and devices are safe forpatients. Disinfection can be carried out as thermal disinfection, forexample by boiling an instrument or by sterilizing it in autoclave, oras chemical disinfection, for example by wiping an instrument with asuitable disinfectant or by soaking it in a disinfectant solution. Indisinfection, however, attention has to be paid to the material of theinstrument. For example, not all plastic types can be disinfectedchemically since their surfaces may absorb disinfectant. Furthermore,some materials, such as plastics, do not sustain high temperatures,either. Several sensitive instruments do not endure autoclaving.

Disinfection is, however, a necessary measure in connection with dailydental care. Mere disinfection of instruments does not, however,guarantee a hygienic environment for dental care, but the dentalapparatuses and their controls should be designed and manufactured sothat their surfaces can be easily disinfected or they include detachableparts that endure autoclaving.

Dental devices are typically controlled by means of a keyboard interfaceintegrated into the device and a ‘foot control’. The keyboard is mainlyused for setting operating parameters for the instruments and forsimilar control functions, and the foot control is employed forcontrolling the instruments during operation.

Doctors generally use computers for processing patient information.Computers are typically controlled by a controller placed next to thetreatment device, such as a mouse or keys. In connection withtreatments, doctors touch a patient with their hands, and if a computeris used in between, this poses a hygiene risk since microbes, such asbacteria and viruses, may be transmitted from the controller to thepatient through touch.

It is known that cleaning and disinfection of typical controllers, suchas a mouse or keyboard, is difficult due to their shape and materials.From the controller, microbes may be transmitted from the controllerfurther to patients through touch, which is particularly detrimental inconnection with dental treatment since, when the skin or mucousmembranes are broken, the system is particularly vulnerable to microbes,which may cause infections, for example. The control surface cannaturally be covered by a disposable or disinfectable protective cover,such as a plastic bag intended for the purpose, but in this case, theuse of the control is difficult and the replacement or disinfection ofthe protective cover is relatively troublesome.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The object of the invention is to provide a dental apparatus whichcomprises a dental device that can be controlled hygienically by acontroller so as to alleviate the above-mentioned problems. The objectof the invention is achieved by a dental apparatus and a method whichare characterized by what is stated in the independent claims.

The preferred embodiments of the invention are disclosed in thedependent claims.

The idea underlying the invention is that the dental apparatus comprisesa dental device, a graphic display and a user interface connectedfunctionally to one another. The user interface is arranged to be usedfor controlling functions of the dental device. The user interface is atouch pad and the graphic display comprises means for showing symbolsdescribing the control functions of the dental device, such as icons,and a cursor. The dental apparatus further comprises means for movingand controlling the cursor in response to a touch of a pointer means,such as a pointer pen or finger, and its movement on the surface of thetouch pad. Such a touch pad typically comprises a uniform and evencontact surface, which is easy to wipe with disinfectant. According to apreferred embodiment of the invention, a functional connection isarranged between the touch pad and the graphic display through acomputer. Furthermore, according to a preferred embodiment of theinvention, the touch pad is arranged to control a computer functionallyconnected to the dental device. In addition, according to a preferredembodiment of the invention, the touch pad is arranged to control thedental device through the computer. According to a further preferredembodiment of the invention, a detachable and disinfectable ordisposable film, which can be replaced by a new one after it has wornout, is arranged to be attached to the contact surface.

According to a preferred embodiment of the invention, the touch padcomprises a capacitive or a resistive contact surface. According to apreferred embodiment of the invention, the touch pad is arranged toproduce control information for the dental device in response to thefact that the contact surface of the touch pad is pressed or somethingslides on it so that the material layers included in the touch pad touchone another at the point in question, thus interrupting the current flowin the electrode network included in the touch pad.

According to a preferred embodiment of the invention, the touch pad isintegrated into the dental apparatus, or correspondingly, the touch padis placed under the backrest of the patient chair included in the dentalapparatus.

According to a preferred embodiment of the invention, the dentalapparatus further comprises a computer, in which case the touch pad isarranged to produce control information for the dental device throughthe computer so that control information is modified on the basis of thepatient information included in the computer.

The apparatus according to the invention provides considerableadvantages. An advantage is that the controller surface is easy to cleanand disinfect between treatments or even during a treatment. Thus theuse of the dental device according to the invention is considerably morehygienic than that of prior art dental devices. A further advantage isthat the user can operate the controller also when wearing protectivegloves, which facilitates the controlling of the dental device during atreatment. In addition, an advantage is that the controller can beplaced relatively freely with respect to the dental device, and thus thecontroller can be, for example, integrated into a surface of the dentaldevice, such as the top of a instrument table. Thus the controller canalso be placed ergonomically in a suitable place, considering the motionpath of the controller user's hands during the operation, for example.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES

In the following, the invention will be described in greater detail withreference to the accompanying drawings, in which

FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a dental apparatus according to apreferred embodiment of the invention, and

FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating a dental apparatus according to apreferred embodiment of the invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

In the following, a preferred embodiment of the invention will bedescribed referring to FIG. 1, which illustrates, as a block diagram, adental apparatus 100, which includes a dental device and a controldevice connected functionally to it. In this application, the dentaldevice refers to a device to which one or more instruments used indental treatment can be attached. The dental device is generallyarranged to feed power, water and/or compressed air into theinstruments. The dental device typically comprises an instrument table102, a frame part 104 and a cable conduit 106 connecting them. Theinstrument table 102 comprises an electronics unit 108, which isarranged to perform the functions needed to control the dentalinstruments. The frame part 104 comprises an electronics unit 110 of itsown. The instruments 112 are attached to the instrument table 102 bymeans of several similar instrument connectors C, and the dental deviceis arranged to identify the instrument used at a given time. In responseto this, the electronics unit 108 adjusts physical variables accordingto each instrument. Electric wires, signal wires and pipes needed forconveying water and air travel inside the cable conduit 106.

Controllers functionally connected to the dental device, such as akeyboard 116 and a foot control 117, are used to transmit controlcommands to the electronics unit 110 of the frame part of the dentaldevice and/or directly to the electronics unit 108 of the instrumenttable. These control commands can adjust the operation and settings ofthe instruments. The electronics units may include a digital dataprocessing unit, such as a microprocessor, to which control informationformed is transmitted from the controller 116, 117 preferably by meansof a control signal.

To solve the above-mentioned hygiene problems, the controller 116 ispreferably implemented as a touch pad, which in cooperation with thegraphic display is arranged to produce control information, preferably acontrol signal, for the dental device in response to the fact that thecontroller's touch pad is pointed at with a pointer means, such as apointer pen or a finger. In this application, the ‘touch pad’ refers toa user interface which is sensitive to touch and movement and used forfeeding control information into the dental device. The user feedscontrol information, such as a command, into the dental device by movingand touching or pressing a touch-sensitive area of the touch pad, i.e.the contact surface, e.g. by a finger or another pointer means. Thetouch pad can be used in the same way as a mouse controller by movingthe pointer means on the contact surface. In dental treatments, it isadvantageous to use touch pads as the control means of the dental devicesince touch pads are easy to clean and disinfect thanks to theirmaterials and simple shape.

According to a preferred embodiment of the invention, feeding controlinformation by means of the touch pad requires pressing of the contactsurface. Touch pads that require pressing typically comprise severalmaterial layers which are separated from one another and arranged toform an electrode network where electric current flows. When the userpresses the contact surface, the material layers touch one another atthe point pressed, in which case the current flow is interrupted in theelectrode network. The point pressed in the touch pad can be determinedby a ‘detection circuit’, which is arranged to detect an interruption inthe current flow.

One touch pad suitable for use in the invention is, for example, a touchpad which comprises a resistive or capacitive contact surface and candetect both a movement and a press. The surface of a resistive touch padis coated with a thin conductive and resistive layer. On top of thetouch-sensitive area of the capacitive touch pad, there is a layer whichforms a pixel-like capacitor matrix and whose electric properties changeas a finger touches the surface since the capacitance of human bodyconnects part of the voltage of the contact point to the earth. Thecontact point of the touch pad can be determined by measuring theresistance or capacitance values of the touch pad surface. An advantageof the capacitive contact surface is that it also functions well whentouched with resistive protective gloves, which may constitute a problemin the case of a resistive contact surface.

According to a preferred embodiment of the invention, the contactsurface of the touch pad is implemented so that it sustains chemicaldisinfection. Exposition of the surface to disinfectant can preferablybe reduced by attaching a thin, detachable and preferably disinfectableor disposable film to the contact surface. A touch can be detectedthrough the film, which can be replaced by a new one after it has wornout.

The touch pad can also be connected to the dental device through aninterface. Thus the touch pad itself can be placed onto another surfaceof the dental device, for example integrated into the top of theinstrument table. Correspondingly, the touch pad may be arranged in thepatient chair, for example under the backrest. In addition, according tothe invention, the touch pad can be implemented as a separate auxiliarydevice, which can be mechanically attached by an arm to a dental tableor to another object, such as a cabinet in the treatment room. The touchpad may also be provided with a support of its own, in which case itslocation in relation to the dental device can be changed freely. In theplacement of the touch pad, attention can also be paid to ergonomics byplacing the touch pad within reach close to the subject, for instance.In particular, the invention enables free placement of the userinterface so that the user of the dental device does not need to seewhich key his finger touches, for example. Consequently, the touch padcan be placed ergonomically or otherwise appropriately.

FIG. 2 illustrates a dental apparatus according to a preferredembodiment of the invention, which in accordance with FIG. 1 comprises adental device and a control apparatus connected functionally to it. Inaddition, a graphic display 118 is functionally connected to the dentalapparatus. The graphic display in the dental device may show informationon the patient, on the operations to be performed/that have beenperformed on him and on the patient's health. Furthermore, by means ofthe touch pad, the dental device can be controlled through a computer byutilizing patient information in controlling the dental device. In thatcase, the computer can be controlled to transmit, for example, a controlsignal for adjusting the patient chair to a position suitable for theanatomy of a patient who has visited the clinic earlier or to setoperating parameters for the instruments according to the operation tobe performed.

It will be obvious to a person skilled in the art that as the technologyadvances, the inventive concept can be implemented in various ways. Theinvention and its embodiments are thus not restricted to the aboveexamples but they may vary within the scope of the claims.

1. Dental apparatus, comprising: a dental device; a graphic displayfunctionally connected to said dental device, said graphic displaystructured and arranged to display symbols on a screen thereofidentifying respective control functions of said dental device, saidgraphic display further structured and arranged to display a cursor onsaid screen thereof, said cursor being movable to positions on saidscreen in relation to said symbols for selecting and activating acontrol function of said dental device; and a touch pad including acontact surface for detecting both movement thereon and pressing thereofby a pointer means, said touch pad functionally connected to said dentaldevice and graphic display and structured and arranged for selecting arespective control function of said dental device represented by arespective symbol by moving said cursor in relation to said symbols bymovement of the pointer means on said contact surface of said touch padand for then activating said selected control function of said dentaldevice by pressing of said contact surface of said touch pad by thepointer means; and wherein; said graphic display and said touch pad arestructured and arranged separately from each other such that saidgraphic display and touch pad can be situated relative to said dentaldevice independently of each other.
 2. A dental apparatus according toclaim 1, wherein the functional connection between the touch pad and thegraphic display is arranged through a computer.
 3. A dental apparatusaccording to claim 2 wherein the touch pad is arranged to control thecomputer functionally connected to the dental device.
 4. A dentalapparatus according to claim 2 wherein the touch pad is arranged tocontrol the dental device through the computer.
 5. A dental apparatusaccording to claim 2 wherein the touch pad is arranged to form controlinformation for the dental device through the computer so that thecontrol information is modified on the basis of patient informationincluded in the computer.
 6. A dental apparatus according to claim 1wherein the pointer means is a pointer pen or a finger.
 7. A dentalapparatus according to claim 1, wherein the touch pad comprises acapacitive or a resistive contact surface.
 8. A dental apparatusaccording to claim 7, wherein the touch pad is arranged to form controlinformation for the dental device in response to the fact that thecontact surface of the touch pad is pressed or something slides on it sothat material layers included in the touch pad touch one another at apoint in question, in which case a current flow is interrupted in anelectrode network included in the touch pad.
 9. A dental apparatusaccording to claim 7, wherein a detachable and disinfectable ordisposable film is arranged to be attached to the contact surface.
 10. Adental apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the touch pad isintegrated into the dental device or is arranged to be placed under abackrest of a patient chair included in the dental apparatus.